This one still chokes me up. I was trying to get hold of a Co-op student that used to work for me. He wasn’t responding to his emails and his phone was disconnected. This was around 2001. He would have been about 25 years old. This kid was an amazing computer tech and, more importantly, great with people. When he came to my house he would immediately be on the floor with my 4 year old son wrestling. He was amazing.
Anyway after much searching I found his new number. I called it. Turns out it was his Dad’s number as he was a “junior” (same name as his Dad). Within seconds I found out he had died. A logging truck had lost it’s load and it came through the van he was in killing him instantly. I was shocked. His Dad and I talked, and cried, for over an hour. His Dad had heard every story about myself and my family. He had heard about how much his son, truly loved my son. I cried on the phone quite bit.
Then his Dad said that he wishes he could hook up his son’s computer. They had converted his bedroom into a memorial but he didn’t even know how to plug in a computer. He remembers his son sitting in there listening to MP3s on his computer. His Dad wanted to hook it up and play those same MP3s.
So… I turned to my wife and said “Honey I need to go on a drive!” I explained to her what was up. 3 Days later (including an overnight ferry ride) I arrived at the house. I knocked on the door and there was no answer. I walked around the back of the house and saw an older man there. I said to him “Are you Wayne Stolz?” He looked confused and said “yes. Who are you?” I said “I’m James. I’m here to hook up your boy’s computer” He immediately broke down and cried. We went inside. We, including Mrs. Stolz, talked and cried all night long. I stayed overnight. They wanted any stories I could tell them of their son. I wracked my brain to remember any tidbits I could give them. Then the next morning I hooked up the computer. We turned it on. The two of them sat down and just listened to their son’s music, reminiscing about when their boy would play it and they would hear it in the background. I left to go back home, leaving them to enjoy this moment.
This was not the most exciting moment in my life (my marriage and my children being born were) but it was the most satisfying moment in my life!
Read other answers by James Meszaros on Quora:
- What is the craziest thing you have ever said (or done) at an interview and still got the job?
- When did you know it was time to quit?
- What’s the strangest feeling you’ve ever had and what triggered it?
from Quora http://ift.tt/2fhWPCI
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